Effect of Marriage Duration on Property Duration and Alimony
Along with child support, alimony and property division are some of the most controversial aspects of divorce. Understand all the factors that affect these issues to get the divorce settlement you deserve. For example, you should know that the length of your marriage affects alimony and property division. Read on for an overview of these effects.
Property Division
State law determines property division guidelines during a divorce. Different states classify and divide property differently during a divorce. Oregon is an equitable distribution state, which means the court splits your marital property fairly (not necessarily equally) upon divorce.
Fair division means your respective financial statuses and contribution to marriage matters. As such, the marriage length is likely to affect how much property you receive. Three reasons for this include the following.
Property Accumulation and Classification
The property you acquire during the marriage is marital property irrespective of who acquired them or whose name is on the title. For example, the business you started during the marriage is marital property. Separate property includes all the properties you acquired before your marriage. You keep the separate property and divide marital property.
The longer a marriage lasts, the more property the couple will accumulate. For example, a couple may have more assets after 30 years of marriage than after five years. Thus, the marital property to divide grows with marriage length. As such, you are likely to get more assets after a lengthy marriage than a short marriage.
Contribution to Marital Resources
Your contribution to the marriage determines how much property you deserve during the divorce. Note that marital contributions are not necessarily direct financial contributions. You may contribute in the following ways:
You took care of the home and children while your partner worked
You helped in the day-to-day running of a business
You helped pay for your partner's college tuition
Again, marriage duration affects your overall contribution. For example, your contribution is more significant if you took care of the kids until they went off to college than if you divorce while they are still minors. Thus, the lengthy contribution may increase your share of marital assets.
Spousal Support
Marriage length also affects spousal support in multiple ways. Specifically, marriage length can affect the type, duration, and amount of spousal support.
Type
Oregon recognizes three types of spousal support:
Transitional support helps you get into the workforce if you do not presently work
Compensatory support reimburses you for the effort or resources you invested in supporting your partner's earning capacity
Spousal maintenance maintains your marital standard of living if your partner is financially stronger than you
Consider a partner who has been out of the workforce for two decades versus one who has only been out of the workforce for a year. The first individual needs transitional support more than the second person does.
Duration
Many courts use a rule of thumb that awards one year of alimony for every three years to marriage. Deviations from the rule of thumb are possible, but longer marriages still attract longer alimony durations.
Amount
Lastly, marriage duration also affects the amount of spousal support you may get. For example, a lengthy marriage gives you more opportunities to contribute to your partner's earning capacity. The contribution determines how much compensatory support you need. In addition, the longer you have been out of the workforce, the more resources you may need to get back to it.
Hopefully, you will get a good divorce settlement irrespective of your marriage length. The Rise Law Group has extensive experience and success with family law cases. We can help you get the divorce settlement you deserve. Contact us for a consultation to determine the next steps for your divorce case.